


Hope

by CrackingLamb



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Babyfic, Background Reaper War, F/M, Fluff, Self-Indulgent, a bit of angst, if you're reading this anywhere other than ao3 it's been stolen, please report it thanks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-26 08:02:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19001698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrackingLamb/pseuds/CrackingLamb
Summary: In a Reaper torn galaxy, the release of the Genophage Cure is like a miracle.  Little do Shepard and Garrus know exactly whatkindof miracle it will turn out to be.





	Hope

**Author's Note:**

> Suspend all disbelief, all ye who enter here. My husband said I should tag this as 'headchaff' (as opposed to headcannon) since it's a paper thin, ridiculous idea that simply demanded to be written. Anyway...I hope you enjoy.

_Tuchanka_

 

It fell like snow, soft, floating on the wind, dispersing all over the planet, disappearing in her hand right through her gloves. Shepard was filled with something like euphoria, something nameless and full of awe and wonder.

She turned to say something to Garrus, saw Wrex there, his face more jubilant than she'd ever seen it, even in battle, and forgot what she was going to say. She smiled at them both – her boys, her favorite squad, long since ended since Wrex had chosen to stay here and unite his people – and stepped close to the turian, taking his hand in hers.

“Are we celebrating?” Garrus asked quietly, a sort of joy thrumming through him too.

“We are,” she whispered back, choking back the sorrow at losing Mordin, knowing how much this meant to him, to the krogan. One life balanced against an entire species...it was worth it.

“How shall we celebrate?” Garrus asked, breaking into her thoughts.

She grinned and pulled Garrus closer still. “In time honored fashion, of course. Just like everyone else.”

 

_Normandy SR-2, en route to Ilium_

 

She barely made it to the bathroom, barely slammed the door shut behind her so Garrus wasn't treated to a view of her supper in reverse. Cramps riddled her gut, dizziness clouded her eyes and made her stumble to her knees in front of the toilet. What was wrong with her?

The door opened behind her and she could feel his presence more than see it.

“Are you all right?” he asked, slightly panicked.

She couldn't answer, too busy vomiting to spare more than a breath.

“I'm calling Dr. Chakwas.”

She didn't argue.

***

“Well, this will go down in history, Commander,” the doctor said with a slight smile.

“Oh?” was Shepard's bemused reply. Chakwas tilted her head towards Garrus, standing anxiously next to her.

“You two should really reconsider this trip to Ilium. Somewhere less...stressful would be good for you.”

“Spit it out, Karin,” Shepard said.

“You're pregnant, Commander.”

“How the hell...?”

Garrus began to laugh. “Spirits. I didn't think...I mean...what?”

“My guess? Judging from the hormone balance and what I know of the Commander's...cycles...Mordin had a gift for you that you didn't know about.”

“Tuchanka...” Shepard breathed. “The genophage cure.”

“Indeed. Whatever was in it changed some things...at least, for as long as you were exposed to it. I know the two of you well enough to ask this. Did you...engage in any _activities_ before you left the planet?”

“We...yeah...we did.”

Chakwas turned to Garrus. “I will need more specifics on turian gestation...assuming, of course, you plan to keep the baby.”

Shepard's head shot up like she'd been slapped. “Keep it? Why wouldn't we...?” She paused, seeing Garrus stand still and shocked. Perhaps he didn't really want a baby with her, for all his jokes about it. “Garrus?”

“I...it's a lot to take in,” he finally finished. But there was something in his gaze. Something like _hope_. He wanted this, more than he could express.

“How long do turian women carry, Garrus?” Shepard asked, transfixed by the sight of him nearly vibrating with the reality that his offhand comment about seeing a turian-human hybrid might be happening.

“About half a cycle.”

“Six months...that's...not very long.”

“Not for a human, at any rate,” Chakwas interjected. “If you plan to keep it, Shepard, you will need to be under constant care and supervision. We have no _idea_ what's going to happen with a...a cross species pregnancy.”

“Karin...we're in the middle of a war. I can't just drop everything and...” _Have a baby_ , she finished in her head. A half turian baby. A half turian baby that could possibly be born in just over four months. “How far along am I, anyway?”

“With the data I have now, I'd say about 7 weeks. In a human this would barely be enough time for a fetal heartbeat, but your baby is already developing a spine and there is measurable neural activity.”

“Jesus...”

“I know this is a sudden decision to make, but if you are planning to keep it, I will need to get in touch with a turian obstetrician, confirm my readings and get a clearer idea of what to expect.” Chakwas looked at Garrus expectantly. He stared back at her for a moment before literally shaking himself free of his stupefaction and bringing up his omni-tool.

“Refugees are so scattered right now, but...”

“Of course.” The doctor now sounded soothing rather than brisk as was her wont. “Anything you can give me, names, possibly in outlying colony worlds that haven't been hit by the Reapers yet...anything would be appreciated.” Their omni-tools synced and information flowed between them. “In the meantime, I can give Shepard something to keep her stomach more...”

“Inside?” Shepard said with a snort. “Calm? I don't even...” She dissolved into laughter. “Oh my God, I'm having a turian baby.”

“I'll give you two some time,” Chakwas said, turning to leave the medbay. “I need to look these up anyway.”

 

_Normandy SR-2, docked on Ilium_

 

“You sure you want me to go?” Garrus asked for the billionth time.

“Yes,” Shepard said, exasperated with him for the billionth time. “Honey, I'm going to be fine. Get the supplies you need, don't get shot and don't worry so much.”

“I just...” He placed a hand over her still flat stomach. Four more months. They could put the war on hold that long, couldn't they?

Not if the universe had its way. Hackett was blowing a fuse about having to reroute all her assignments, the Primarch of Palaven had sworn a blue streak about losing his Reaper 'expert', but Anderson had laughed so hard he fell over.

“It feels unnatural to be heading up a mission without you.”

“Get used to it, daddy. Besides it's just a glorified grocery shopping trip.”

“I'll never be used to it,” he murmured under his breath, subvocals twining with a cross between amusement and anxiety. Shepard smiled at him and pushed him out the door of her cabin. She was exhausted all the time now, and planned to sleep away the hours he and the team were 'shopping'. And when she woke, she had a mountain of datapads to go over, delegating missions and putting out fires all over the galaxy remotely.

 

_Normandy SR-2, Earth orbit_

 

She totally didn't fit in her armor anymore. She'd taken to wearing Garrus's tunics around the ship, leaving the latches open so they flowed around her belly gracefully. They'd received word that Castis and Solana had made it off Palaven and were as safe as they could be. The Crucible was nearly finished, with Liara's tireless help, and all they were waiting for was the day their baby was born so Shepard could go back to fighting – and winning – this war. The crew had gotten used to their Commander being pregnant, and the whole ship seemed to be holding its collective breath. While simultaneously fighting all her battles for her so she didn't have to leave the ship.

Each visit with Chakwas, a daily occurrence now, showed the infant within her growing steadily, perfectly even. 3D imaging allowed them to see what a mix of turian and human looked like, and it was amazing.

It was a girl. She was growing tiny mandibles, had soft plates on her torso and back and down the spindly legs and arms. Her cowl grew out of her collarbones but didn't curl up as high around the back of her head as Garrus's did. The smallest fringe they had ever seen was sprouting from the baby's forehead, curving over the back of the head that was otherwise human. A snub nose and pursed lips completed that face. She almost looked asari. She had three fingers and two flanged toes, but no spurs. The only worry Chakwas had was that she was going to have difficulty walking with hip joints too flexible for turians and not rotational enough for humans.

***

“How's the spine looking today?” Shepard asked as she lay back on the table.

“Very well indeed. I was concerned that the saccral ilial space wouldn't close, but it has now.”

“So she has a butt?”

Chakwas glared at Shepard good-naturedly. “In a word, yes. Those hip joints are always going to be a problem for her. I hope...”

“Karin...” Shepard reached out and took Chakwas's hand. “If she never walks, you can tell me. As it is...if she's even born...into this galaxy...”

“Don't get pessimistic on me now, Shepard. She will be born just fine. Her lung measurements look good for an infant who is likely to be born extremely premature by human standards.  And from everything I've learned from that turian doctor, she's right where she should be in terms of development. I think she will walk, it might just take longer than you'd expect for her to be good at it.”

“Well, this whole thing is going to be an adventure with no precedent. There are likely to be all sorts of surprises around every corner,” Shepard said. Chakwas raised an eyebrow and said nothing, continuing to measure and take pictures with the ultrasound machine.

“I'd say another two weeks, Shepard,” the doctor finally said, wrapping up her exam and wiping the jelly off Shepard's belly. The baby responded to the pressure, shifting and kicking. It was a strange sensation to Shepard, who'd never thought she'd experience anything like it once she'd decided to spend her life with Garrus.

 _She's almost here_ , she thought.

 _It's almost time to get back to saving the galaxy_ , she thought too. She pushed that one aside. She and Garrus were planning already for that. So far the Reapers had been steadily advancing on the populated systems, wiping out life left and right. When the time came...

When the time came, baby or no baby, Shepard would do what she'd set out to. Stop them.

 

_Earth, London_

 

“Push, Shepard!” Chakwas cried. Shepard squeezed tight on Garrus's hands, his triple digits ill fitting in hers. He grunted along with her as she squeezed, as she worked to push their daughter out. Labor had started almost as soon as they'd touched down, and they'd barely made it to a hospital before the contractions grew too close together for her to catch a breath. Barely before the Reapers were spotted coming out of the Relay beyond Pluto, hurtling towards the human homeworld at ferocious speed.

She felt something pass out of her body, something sharp but not tearing. Chakwas moved between her bent knees where she couldn't see, her face calm and collected as only she could be under the most stressful situations. Outside in the city, the Reapers were arriving. This was no time to be having a baby.

“One more good push, Shepard,” Chakwas said, her voice nearly lost as Shepard cried out with the force of her urge. She bore down and gritted her teeth. She gave it all she had and was rewarded by a high pitched wail, ululating with subvocals. Behind her, Garrus began to cry. “And there she is,” Chakwas crooned, wrapping the infant in a swaddling cloth and laying her on Shepard's chest.

Shepard got lost in the deep blue of the baby's eyes, her hand automatically cupping the back of the head to keep it steady, fingers threaded around the tiny fringe. She could almost wrap her hand entirely around the infant's head.

“Oh, Garrus...look at her. So tiny...”

“She's perfect, she's just the right size for a turian baby,” he said. He stroked a talon down the baby's cheek to her hand, which she grabbed instinctively. Tiny matching talons were already growing on those minuscule digits, a mirror to her father's. “Spirits...”

Shepard barely felt her body push out the afterbirth, but she looked up as Chakwas held a pair of snips to Garrus, who took them with a confused look on his face. “She's born, but she's still connected. Do the honors, Papa.”

Garrus cut the cord gingerly, afraid to get too close to the soft stomach of his daughter, while Shepard laughed at him, that feeling of euphoria she'd felt on Tuchanka washing over her again. Chakwas expertly tied off the end of the umbilical and wiped the baby's face clean.

“What will you name her?”

Shepard looked at Garrus. They hadn't thought much about what to name their daughter, too anxious for her arrival amidst the galactic war to think about it. Garrus spread his mandibles wide in a smile, his other hand stroking back Shepard's sweaty hair.

“Hope,” he said.

“Hope Shepard-Vakarian,” she agreed. They touched their foreheads together. For one perfect moment they were a family. One perfect moment... “Karin, I need stims and a nerve block.”

“Shepard...you aren't serious.” Chakwas was aghast.

“This needs to be finished. I have Hope to think about now.”

“Garrus, surely you don't think this is a good...”

“No one else can do this,” he interrupted. He took the baby from Shepard as she started to sit up, groaning and hissing as her body protested. The post birth endorphins were still in her system, but she knew they wouldn't last long. Pain would set in all too soon. Assuming she lived long enough to feel it.

“Garrus, I need you to get Hope out of here.”

“I promise, Shepard.” He held the baby tight to his carapace. This had been their plan, all along, although facing it now was harder than she thought it would be.

“Stims, doctor?”

“You're insane, you know that?”

“I do,” Shepard said with a sigh, shunting the wave of emotions aside like she always knew she would have to. “Needs must.”

***

“Normandy! Get out of here!” she shouted into her commlink, running towards the beam of the Crucible as fast as she could. She ignored the pain in her gut, the stabbing sensation with every step. The nerve block was wearing off. _Hell hath no fury like a mother torn from her child_ , she thought. If she hadn't already had enough motivation to stop the Reapers, Hope had added to it. Come what may, she would finish this.

She allowed herself a last glimpse of her ship, carrying away her infant and her love, along with all her crew – the injured Liara among them – before she turned and staggered towards the light, dodging the Reaper's beam as she went. When the light hit her, she didn't know which way was up anymore, didn't feel the pain of it racing down her spine.

When she fought the Illusive Man, she didn't think about the terrible things he'd done. When he shot Anderson using her, she couldn't focus on it for long. She needed to be single minded now. But she stayed with Anderson as he bled out, telling him that her baby had been born. He died with a smile on his face, knowing that no matter what else happened, her legacy was ensured.

When the light resolved itself into the form of a child she'd seen in her dreams, she barely paid attention. She knew what she must do. She didn't require any long winded discussion about it.

She aimed and fired, again and again, pain mixed with fury mixed with anguish that she'd probably never see Hope grow, never see Garrus again...

She fired again and the Crucible exploded around her.

 

_Normandy SR-2, and finally...Earth_

 

They knew Shepard had succeeded when EDI went into sleep mode and did not wake. Joker's grief and anger nevertheless did not interfere with his ability to pilot the ship. They crashed onto a planet in the far reaches of the Attican Traverse, an unknown world. The only sound in the ship after the landing was Hope's hungry cries.

For weeks they tried to raise the Alliance, the Hierarchy...even what remained of the Migrant Fleet, but there was no one in range. Garrus cared for the baby while the others recovered from injuries, worked on getting the ship in spaceworthy shape and foraged for food. When at last they lifted off the planet, Hope was able to hold up her own head and stared at everyone around her with a serious little face. She never grew any hair like a human, and her fringe firmed up to rest against her small head.

In the months it took to crawl back into known space – one FTL jump at a time with no relays to shorten the journey – Hope learned to sit up alone and began to scoot around on her hands and knees.

It was a year before the Normandy reached a populated system. Hope could toddle as long as she held someone's hand for balance. She started to babble a mix of human words and turian ones.

Eighteen months after their final jump through a working relay, the crew of the Normandy heard news that Shepard had been found, injured and comatose, but alive. Hope took her first unassisted steps as they hurried back towards Sol, still one FTL jump at a time.

When they finally reached Earth, nearly two years after the Reapers were defeated, Hope could speak in full sentences in either human Standard or turian, and could run like the wind.

Garrus had been prompting her, telling her stories every night about the hero that had given birth to her. As they raced through the hospital corridors, he wondered if his little girl would know, if she would guess, if she would turn shy like she sometimes did around strangers. He scooped her into his arms at the door to Shepard's room, peering through the slit of glass to see Shepard's familiar shape beneath the blankets. Machines beeped in time with her pulse, intravenous fluids dripped steadily into wires and tubes. Her body had mostly healed, thanks to her Cerberus implants, but would she still be his? Would she even remember the sacrifice she'd made?

Hope twisted in his arms as they went into the room. “Softly now, sweet,” he said to her.

“Is dat Mama?” the child asked, her subvocals thrumming.

Shepard turned toward them, her smile like the sun rising over Palaven.

“Hope,” she said, reaching out her arms. “My Hope.”

 

 


End file.
